I'd Agree With You If You Were Right
by little-giddy
Summary: Gen. Tag to 1x10. Arthur and Morgana sort out their differences when it comes to women and fighting: Gwen and Merlin get caught in the middle. 'I can't help but feel you've misunderstood the essential purpose of chain mail.' Oneshot.


Title: I'd agree with you (if you were right) [1/1]  
Words: 2500 approx.  
Rating: PG13  
Summary: Set post-1x10, 'The Moment of Truth.' Gen. Arthur and Morgana didn't quite sort out his disapproval of women fighting in Ealdor. That happens back in Camelot and unsurprisingly, Merlin and Gwen get caught in the middle. _"Morgana, I can't help but feel you've misunderstood the essential purpose of chain mail." _  
Spoilers: Through to 1x10, 'The Moment of Truth.'

x

"Maybe... longer."

Arthur looked at Morgana and raised an eyebrow. Morgana rolled her eyes and swallowed a sigh as he looked up and down her body, putting one hand on his hip.

"Morgana," Arthur continued, mocking smile hovering on his lips and eyebrows coming slightly closer together, "I can't help but feel you've misunderstood the essential purpose of chain mail."

Morgana gestured towards Arthur's own armour. "For overgrown boys like the knights and yourself, maybe so. It mainly serves to slow me down."

"Overgrown-"

The blonde man glared and watched as she smiled brightly, making a small noise in the back of her throat and happily shrugging off the light chain mail shoulders. When Morgana looked up, she found Arthur a step away and still glaring. Pursing her lips together, she fought not to grin impudently as he drew his sword and held it horizontally within fifteen inches of her stomach.

"This," Arthur commented mildly, as though speaking to a very small and stupid child, "is the purpose of chain mail. No one can push your guts back in your stomach after an incidental belly cut, Morgana."

Morgana kept her eyes on his and unblinking, allowing herself a grin and quickly dragging her sword from her scabbard to meet Arthur's and push it up and away.

"It's also very nice of you to show off your next move in the shiny silver," she countered, taking a stance three feet away and gesturing to Arthur's own torso with her sword. "A loose tunic or leather jacket won't do that."

"Oh, that's just my finely toned muscles, Morgana," Arthur grinned over a shield he'd picked up. "Don't let my manly physique spoil chain mail for you."

Morgana spun to the side and caught a glimpse of two figures by the side of the practice grounds, one of them a ducked head over a red shirt and the other a maid in yellow with a hand pressed against her mouth.

x

"Well," Gwen blinked, "he is... well formed."

"And ridiculous," Merlin pointed out, laughing. "He _deserves _to get beaten by a girl for that one."

There was a moment of silence and Merlin met a warning in Gwen's eyes. "Well. You know. Morgana. Not a girl. Not that I'm saying Morgana's _not _a girl. I mean, she's -" Merlin pursed his lips and looked at Gwen sidelong. "I should stop?"

Gwen nodded, corners of her mouth twitching.

"So why is he fighting her?" Merlin asked, attempting a casual tone and not a rapid direction change at all.

"Morgana wanted an opinion on her kit once her things were fixed up," Gwen replied, leaning on the fence. "Prince Arthur is well versed in such things."

"Much like you are," Merlin added with a crooked grin.

"Yes," Gwen answered, hesitating and casting Merlin a glance. "Don't tell Prince Arthur."

"About you knowing your way around armour or Morgana tricking him into a practice session?" Merlin asked, thoroughly amused.

"Hmm."

Merlin looked at Gwen, turning so his back was against the fence. "What?"

"I wouldn't say... tricked."

Gwen looked at him quickly and away again.

"She did... kind of... attack him," Merlin said slowly and seriously. "We definitely shouldn't tell Arthur she planned it."

"I agree," Gwen concurred hastily, turning back to the clash of blades in the yard.

x

"Damn her, she _planned _that!"

_So much for that plan, _Merlin thought in resigned fashion, pointedly looking away and haphazardly catching the sweat-soaked garments that Arthur threw from across the room as the prince shrugged into a fresh set of clothes.

"It could be-"

Arthur's head and bare shoulders appeared around the side of the bed. "Do _not _say 'useful.'"

"-useful."

With a noise of frustration, Arthur's gloves smacked into the wall opposite. "It's _dangerous. _She could get _hurt. _Outnumbered in the middle of nowhere, maybe -well, no, especially - but here-_"_

"I seriously doubt Lady Morgana is a threat to Camelot, sire. Or that she'll prick her finger on a sword," Merlin answered, putting the discarded clothes in a basket and sitting it by the door to take to the laundry later. He picked up the gloves as Arthur rolled out his neck and fixed his collar.

Arthur's eyes narrowed and he held onto the gloves for a beat longer than strictly necessary, some approximation of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "What do you _know, _Merlin?"

Merlin dropped his end of the gloves and clamped his hands behind his back, sweat on his palms. "Know, sire?" He shook his head and widened his eyes. "Only what I saw with my eyes in Ealdor."

"Hmm," Arthur replied, looking at Merlin for a moment longer and walking to the window.

Merlin let out a breath softly and relaxed his hands.

"See-"

Arthur turned around, leaning against the window with arms folded, one ankle crossed leisurely over the other and that same _thinking _grin. Merlin's thoughts wandered into words that his mother had smacked his head for saying aloud.

"-whenever you go so very polite, Merlin," Arthur tilted his head, "I'm beginning to think it either means you have a _theory _or you know more than you're telling me. But that would be absurd. Wouldn't it?"

Merlin swallowed, thinking about how much easier it would all be if Arthur really was as stupid as he pretended to be and occasionally was when it was the honourable option. Clearly the only option was to be insulting. "I wouldn't presume to _think_, sire. I am a servant."

Arthur barked out a laugh and cleared his throat, ducking his head and raising it again. "I hereby give you permission to think when I ask for your opinion, Merlin. I won't _listen, _but go ahead and think."

"Thank you, my lord," Merlin bowed politely with a grin and moved away. "Will that be all?" He picked up the basket and put a hand on the door.

"Yes, Merlin," Arthur nodded from beside the window, "I think it will be."

x

After dropping off the basket at the laundry, Merlin rounded a corner and leaned his forehead against the wall. He knew exactly what this deserted little passage was infamous for hiding, but he needed a minute to get his thoughts together, tryst corner or not. He was pretty sure Arthur was just messing with his head, like every other day of the blessed week, but -

Leaning back on his heels, he hit his forehead off of the wall.

"Stupid. Stupid. Insufferable. Smug -"

"Arrogant _idiot!"_

Merlin's eyes snapped open and he blinked at the wall. Sliding his eyes to the side, frozen in place with his arms at his side, he saw Morgana and Gwen silhouetted against the light coming from the corridor at the top of the stairs, equally frozen.

Gwen called down the short stairs. "Hello?"

Merlin pressed his eyes shut and let out a sigh. If Arthur heard he'd been found there, he'd never see the end of it.

"Who's there?"

It seemed that closing his eyes and willing the ground to swallow him whole wasn't working this time.

Except, then, it did.

Gwen and Morgana looked at each other, then at the empty dead end.

"My lady, I could have sworn-"

"Me too," Morgana interrupted quietly, putting a hand on Gwen's arm. "Come on, let's go. I can hit things upstairs."

x

_"Ow."_

Merlin looked up into the large, luminescent and deeply amused eyes of the dragon.

"I did not expect watching a sorcerer of great power go through youth to be so entertaining. It seems I am destined to be proved wrong, young Merlin."

Merlin put a hand on his ankle and winced, standing with a groan. "I'm glad this is _entertaining_ for someone."

"I am also touched that you see my cave as a place of safety," the dragon positively purred, doing something with his claws that Merlin could only describe as filing his nails.

Looking up into the catlike, sincere eyes, Merlin didn't have the energy or the heart to admit that he'd just wanted the ground to swallow him and the dragon's cave had been underneath.

x

Gaius raised an eyebrow and pulled out a seat, one that Merlin promptly sunk into with a muttered 'thanks.'

"I was not aware that you were practicing weapons with Arthur today," Gaius commented lightly, sitting a brew that Merlin was certain would taste vile in front of him.

"It's his fault," Merlin swallowed it, winced and put his head on the table. "No weapons, but it's his fault."

Gaius thought it prudent not to ask.

x

"So, Merlin-"

If he could beat his head off of a wall every time the urge struck him, Gaius would take him to task for damaging his brain. This time, like most others, it was Arthur's fault.

Merlin sat the water jug down on the table and put his hands behind his back as Arthur leaned back in his chair and raised his chin.

"-I would like to hear your theory on women and fighting. Don't tell me you don't have one."

Merlin shot a glance towards Morgana, seated opposite Arthur, and Gwen, standing behind her mistress. This was just cruel.

"With respect, my lord, I don't think you'll like it," Merlin answered.

Arthur blinked innocently and looked to Morgana, who was watching Merlin closely.

"No, Merlin," Morgana leaned forward, "do go on. I'm interested even if our fine prince isn't."

Merlin blinked and tightened his hands together behind his back. "It's more useful if you keep it secret. No one will expect you to protect the king or take you into consideration in their plans, which gives the king and court an advantage."

Morgana and Arthur looked at each other and away, both shooting glares at each other and then at Merlin.

x

Gwen and Merlin walked down to the empty kitchens with the dishes from Morgana and Arthur's dinner.

"He planned that, didn't he?" Merlin sat his tray down by the basin and looked at Gwen, who nodded.

"Almost certainly." She paused and tilted her head. "If it's any consolation, I think it was aimed at Morgana."

Merlin sighed and looked up at her. "Not helping." He struck the flint and sat, waiting on the water to heat so they could wash up. "I wish they'd just hit each other again and leave me out of it. He's annoying." Merlin paused. "More than usual."

"It's worse since Ealdor," Gwen put in tentatively, not looking at him.

"He agreed to let you fight then," Merlin protested, breaking off some bread and offering the rest to Gwen.

"That doesn't mean he liked it," Gwen shrugged, sitting and cutting wedges of cheese. "And that was in an... unusual situation. Fitting that in here-" She broke off with a sigh.

Merlin considered that and nodded. "It's still annoying."

Gwen looked up at him and he grinned. Gwen opened her mouth but didn't speak, lifting a tray and emptying the dishes into the tub before quietly asking, "How are you, Merlin?"

Hand clenching around the bread, Merlin froze. The question was weighted exactly towards Will and Merlin wasn't quite at answering yet, preferring to slip back into the routine madness of Camelot. "I'm here now."

Gwen nodded, tilting her head towards him and looking up. "I'm sure you are."

x

"I'm sorry, Arthur-"

Morgana sounded anything but sorry.

"Oh, really?"

"Would it help if you thought of me as a freak of nature, or am I going to have to beat you?"

Returning to Arthur's room to check if their masters needed anything else, Merlin and Gwen paused on the stairs with a look at the door and each other.

Merlin wondered briefly if anyone else could hear the extra bite in Morgana's voice on the word _'freak.' _

"Courage, Gwen," he put in with a grin.

Gwen took a breath and raised an eyebrow.

x

"Any theories this fine morning, servant mine?" Arthur asked brightly as Merlin hooked up the last of his armour.

Merlin shook his head, tight-lipped.

"Come on, not even one?"

Arthur's eyebrows came together in a light, incredulous frown.

Merlin took a breath and stood back with a nod. "This is a bad idea."

"Exactly why my father doesn't know about it," Arthur smacked a hand on Merlin's shoulder and walked out onto the practice field.

"Not _exactly _what I meant," Merlin said quietly and resignedly to Arthur's retreating back.

x

_"Ow."_

"More cold water, sire?" Merlin called from the bedroom, hanging up clothes in front of the fire.

"You know," came Arthur's reply, "as _my _servant, you could try to find this less entertaining."

"Yes, sire," Merlin replied, trying not to grin.

There was a beat of silence.

"She didn't beat me."

"No, sire," Merlin called back obediently, "she definitely didn't."

"I mean, it was the weather."

Merlin coughed and definitely did not laugh, glad that the splashing in the other room covered it.

"No sense in getting water on the armour if we can help it." Arthur's voice was perfectly calm and reasonable. "Staying out in that storm would have been idiotic."

"Yes, sire. No sense in risking either of you getting ill." Merlin grinned into the fire, thinking that his magic really did save them a lot of trouble. The rain he hadn't conjured, but the wind that had risen with it, whipping the rain into their faces and making the exercise quite uncomfortable- Gaius wouldn't approve, Merlin knew, but it had worked.

More splashing came from the direction of the bath. "Exactly what I said, Merlin. _Exactly._"

"Will you -" Merlin stopped himself.

"Out with it, Merlin," Arthur called through.

This wasn't going to go down well, Merlin knew. "Will you continue- ah- protesting Lady Morgana's fighting ability?"

"Merlin," Arthur replied in a somewhat condescending tone, "are you saying that our difference in opinion has been inconvenient to you and Guinevere and you'd both really prefer if we got along?"

Merlin swallowed. "Not _exactly._ But -"

"Something very like it," Arthur finished with a laugh. "Don't worry, Merlin. Morgana will keep practicing and after today, I believe I'm going to keep my mouth shut about it if she does."

In the other room, Merlin let out a sigh of relief.

"And then, when the weather improves and she can give me a decent fight, I'm going to win," Arthur added, splashing in the bath happily and humming under his breath.

Merlin quietly hit his head against the stone of the fireplace.

END


End file.
